In securing a 0L summer gig, what is the best way to do this? Is it better to work for a government org (DA office, Judge) or a firm? I know firms won't pay summer associate salaries, so is there really a huge pay difference between the two? Prestige difference?

How did you handle deposits for a back-up school while waiting on waitlists? I'm WLed at Michigan and GULC (I hope I'll just get directly in to Cornell), and right now my best option looks like UIUC with 15k + in-state tuition. I don't want to lose my money (quite honestly, my parent's money) on a seat there if I end up getting off a WL, especially if it is Michigan's.

So yeah, any advice about how to get of waitlists would be GREAT. Thanks, and enjoy Northwestern. I took the LSAT there, and I loved the campus, but have no WE to speak of, so didn't apply.

Ack, I forget one other question. How do 1L job recruiters view past non-legal WE? My WE is with big-box retailers in stocking, and a typical work-study office monkey position, with nothing else to mention beyond some minor tutoring experience.

I've got a BIGLAW job this summer, will probably focus on corporate/transactional work. About 30% of NU 1Ls get firm jobs, with about 8% more landing jobs in corporate offices (e.g. counsel's office for Boeing, OfficeMax, other large companies that have ties to the law school). Of the remaining 60% of so of the class, many work in judges or prosecutors' offices, for example in the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals or Cook County DA, while others work in the Bluhm Legal Clinic at NU on specific projects (e.g. assist with development of new casebooks, work with the small business clinic, etc.) or work one on one with professors as research assistants. A complete breakdown is available online here: http://www.law.northwestern.edu/career/statistics/firstyear.html

What do you think contributed to your success in getting the summer BIGLAW gig? High 1L grades? Leveraged work experience? Dogged determination?

At this point, Northwestern is at the top of my list (along with riding UMich's waitlist) - and I'd love to stay in Chicago for my 1L summer.

Similarly, do you think the 30% figure is more a process of self-selection, or is 30% pretty much the maximum amount of students that can get big firm jobs their first summer? Also, how do your 1L biglaw searches compare to other schools, if you might know anything about that.